In December of 2012, the tragedies at Newtown and Webster resulted in the federal, state and local governments enacting, or attempting to enact, tougher gun control laws.

The idea was that, after these shocking incidents, such legislation would make us feel safer.

Only they haven’t.

While I feel that it seems incredibly stupid that private individuals have been allowed to acquire and amass assault weapons ( who are they afraid we are going to be invaded by, the Grand Duchy of Fenwick? ), enacting legislation that will not protect us from anyone seems equally stupid.

Such laws merely ticked off law abiding citizens who legally own guns, and justly gave them cause to complain about the unconstitutionality of such legislation.

Criminals, who by their very nature break the law, pay it no heed whatsoever. It can’t be enforced against them.

It is apparent that government is enacting legislation mere for the purpose of enacting legislation, even if it is unenforceable.

Warm weather always brings an upsurge in violence in Rochester, which is infamous for its violent propensities. That reputation is NOT good for business.

Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard continually seeks to assure us that we live in a safe city, safer, at least, since he has been at the helm.

Yet, in the last two weeks, there have been numerous shootings and stabbings in our fair city. Who are we supposed to believe, Sheppard or the blood on the streets and the bullet holes in corpses and houses?

It is bad enough when people with axes to grind resort to violence of one sort or another against their fellow human beings. But, last week, shooters riddled a house with bullets where a graduation party was underway. Three people were seriously wounded, and one young woman was killed.

Where is the popular outrage?

Perhaps it is being tempered by the fact that most of these outrages take place in the poorer patches of Rochester sardonically referred to as the “Fatal Crescent.”

A more vulgar way of looking at it is that it merely happened in the ghetto.

There were fights late yesterday afternoon at the Lilac Festival in Highland Park. There has been very spotty news reporting on THAT subject, probably because the festival draws in people from all over the nation, and it would simply NOT do to draw too much attention to it.

During the summer, fights occur regularly at Durand Eastman Park and Ontario State Park in Charlotte, which tick off the neighbors and are generally not noticed outside of our local area.

Which means that, no matter what, there are some morons who lose control and spoil what could be pleasant outings for everyone else there.

Last night, within a mile of Highland Park, there was a triple stabbing in the up and coming South Wedge neighborhood, which has been a subject of envy among many neighborhoods “in transition” ( i.e., decay ) in Rochester.

Despite the state’s anti-gun legislation, crimes can occur where they are NOT supposed to. And there are no anti-knife laws, which would be equally unenforceable.

So, what to do?

Well, the pro-gun people have been asking for years to be allowed to carry their pistols into public places and parks. But having legally-licensed gun-toting civilians waving their pieces around doesn’t seem quite the way to go.

Banning all guns? Does anybody think that criminals will pay attention to that?

We could have more policemen walking the beat in our neighborhoods, but it would be too expensive to hire more. We already have a larger police force than does Buffalo, New York, which has a larger population, yet a lower homicide rate. Yet some neighborhoods object to having a greater police presence there, claiming that they are being “singled out,” while other neighborhoods that feel threatened feel they are being ignored.

People want the police to stop people who look “suspicious,” whatever that is supposed to mean. It sounds remarkably like “profiling.” And the cops know about the dealers in our famous “open air drug marts,” and haven’t even made a dent in the war on drugs, anyway.

You can thank the courts for that.

Rochester’s City Council could enact curfew legislation, to keep everyone off of the streets after dark, but that would kill our bars, nightclubs, restaurants and theatres without making us any safer.

And, besides, the fights in our parks break out during broad daylight!

Being told not to put ourselves at risk is hardly helpful advice, unless we are supposed to scurry out from our safe homes to work and buy food and then to scurry back again.

So, again I ask, what to do?

Carry a cell phone and be ready to call 911 whenever we see a crime being committed. Travel in groups. Demand that judges enforce justice to the fullest extent of the law. Demand that Police Chief Sheppard be honest about the crimes in our city. All of them. And that goes for the local news media as well.

We know the police can’t stop crime, they can merely respond to it.

And we, the citizens? We can make criminals as uncomfortable as possible, rather than be held hostage to our fears or moving out of Rochester.

Two more murders, at least half a dozen shootings and a late night rumble outside a popular local restaurant.

It HAS been hot and humid lately, and most of Rochester’s murders and shootings occur during warmer weather.

Just like most of Rochester’s murders and shootings occur in that swath of city geography infamously referred to as “The Fatal Crescent.”

“The Fatal Crescent” comprises some of Rochester’s most poverty stricken areas, forming a semi-circle from the northeast side of the city, crossing the Genesee River and curving south through the Edgerton and Lyell-Otis neighborhoods, ending up at Bull’s Head in the southwest.

When people hear that there has been a murder or a shooting in Rochester, they invariably ask “Where?” When told that it occurred in one of the neighborhoods that make up “The Fatal Crescent,” they merely reply “Of course,” and go on their way. Since violent crime occurs on such a regular basis in those neighborhoods, it is taken for granted that that’s where violence WILL occur, where it SHOULD occur! We have become so desensitized to violence in those areas that even the D&C gives reports of shootings and murders only perfunctory coverage.

Unless it is a spectacular episode of violence, with several victims at one address. THAT might be deemed newsworthy enough to hold the attention span of readers for more than just a few minutes and get more of a write-up. Or if violence occurs in ordinarily less violent neighborhoods. That’s when people can’t believe it happened THERE. Things like that are supposed to happen only in “The Fatal Crescent.”

Unfortunately, large areas of Rochester where murder and violence is the norm is bad for business. It’s rather hard to sell the benefits of locating a company here or convincing people to move back into the city to the sound of gunshots. Although ”smarter” criminals attempt to cover the sound of gunshots with firecrackers. Most people have now become accustomed to such attempted deceptions!

So, what to do?

Rochester’s Police Department frequently makes the statement that most of the violence in those areas of town is gang related. This is done to reassure us that, unless we are somehow involved in gang activity, we have nothing to fear. Unless we are innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of gang related activity and become victims ourselves.

Furthermore, the abject poverty in those areas adds to the problem. The days of low to moderate skilled jobs in huge industrial compounds that paid decent, living wages has disappeared with the changes in technology. The long, slow death of the Kodak Empire that was a mainstay of Rochester’s economy is a testimony to that fact. That Citygov and the County frequently announce the creation of new jobs in Rochester that will cut unemployment ( they never DARE talk about underemployment ) has proven to be less than encouraging: those much applauded jobs are generally of the minimum wage variety! Worse, the exploits of COMIDA in bringing such low paying jobs into the area and the city comes at the cost of our tax base: those new businesses get a tax break on their property taxes, and the rest of us get to pick up the slack.

Let’s add to that the dismal failure of our public education system in Rochester. There is a high truancy rate and a much less than 50% graduation rate in the city schools. City Council President Lovely Warren stated on April 30, 2010 that of the students who actually graduate from the city schools and go on to MCC, HALF of them need remedial reading and writing courses. In short, the school system that graduated them for whatever reasons did not make them functionally literate enough to successfully transition into college.

And even if they were well educated ( by our standards, whatever they are ), what have they been educated for? Minimum wage jobs, many of which are located beyond the city limits, many of which are not exactly on a busline.

Within “The Fatal Crescent,” thug culture prevails ( hence the Police Department’s repeated references to “gang-related activity” ). The “Prime Directive” of thug culture is “Don’t snitch.” Many people in those neighborhoods “don’t snitch” when they have information about crime or criminal activity. Whether it is out of loyalty to the twisted code of honor for “don’t snitch” or from fear of retribution is anyone’s guess.

And another part of thug culture is the cheapness of life. Since they haven’t got anything to look forward to anyway, the only thing that matters is NOW. And that means instant gratification.

So, what to do?

Rochester Police Chief Shepard announced some weeks ago that they would be concentrating more police in those areas of the city where crime is more prevalent that others. This was a logical move. Only it bothered the people living there as it made them feel singled out. It bothered liberals not living in those areas, who claimed that we were living in a police state and are being subjected to random frisking and “profiling.” It bothered people living in neighborhoods that bordered “The Fatal Crescent,” because it seemed as though the police were abandoning them.

Of course, had the police chief NOT undertaken such steps, the people in “The Fatal Crescent” and their liberal, usually white “allies” not living there, could complain that the Rochester Police Department DIDN’T care about them and is racist ( never mind the fact that our chief of police is black ).

Hiring more “minority” police officers has been bandied about for years. The idea is that they could be deployed to the neighborhoods of “The Fatal Crescent,” where the majority of people ARE minorities, because they could “talk to them.” Like they were a different species.

The problem is that a good many people from “The Fatal Crescent” have criminal backgrounds ( thug culture again ) that preclude their becoming police officers. The minorities being hired for the Rochester Police Department are coming from the suburbs, NOT from the city! Presumably, they will still be able to “talk” to the people in those neighborhoods.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter if a police officer’s skin is black, white, yellow or brown. Once they don a uniform, they become “blue,” an entirely different species.

So, what to do?

Anti-gun people want to increase restrictions on gun-ownership. They argue that by making it more difficult to get a gun, fewer people on the street will be able to get them and use them to threaten or kill people. They fail to realize that the police themselves usually say that most of the guns used by criminals were obtained illegally, usually by stealing them.

Pro-gun people immediately point that fact out, and complain that the current regulations are too stringent. Most pro-gun people usually have obtained their pistols legally. It is usually from them that the criminals steal their guns! Most pistol owners have more than one and foolishly tell everyone they know about them, how many they have and where they are concealed. A pistol concealed in a Bible-cover in the glove compartment of a car isn’t going to be overlooked by experienced thieves or car-jackers. It seems almost sacrilegious, anyway, as well as being a bit stupid.

At any rate, a complete ban on pistols IS unconstitutional!

So, what to do?

Well, nothing, really.

The police ARE doing their job, which is to respond to crimes, whether in progress or those that have occurred. Their job is NOT to anticipate a crime, though they will respond to tips that something fishy is going on.

It is we who are failing to do our job, to report to the police everything we know about crimes and criminals. Silence only helps criminals.

It is we who are failing to do our job, to demand that the court system enforce the law to the fullest extent, not to contemporary fads or political correctness. And that means putting criminals away from the society that they have preyed upon.

What to do?

We are our brothers’ keepers. Therein lies our personal and collective safety. Otherwise, who will protect us when violence spreads like cancer throughout the city and into the nice, clean white suburbs?

The job of the Rochester Police Department: to protect us from ourselves!

Western New York winters seem to depress a lot of residents. People complain about the cold, the snow and how long the winters are. Frequently, people say that if they could, they’d move south, where the weather is warmer.

Then summer comes.

People then complain about the heat and humidity!

Oh, well. There’s just no pleasing some people.

One of the nastier side effects of summer weather in Rochester is that crime rates go up. This is probably because warmer weather is conducive to being outdoors, rather than being cooped up because of the wind, the cold and the snow.

On the other hand, Rochester’s chief of police James Sheppard continually says that violent crime rates in the city are down. Never mind the fact that there have been a spate of murders occurring in Rochester as of late: last night, a 16 year-old boy was mudered on the east side of the city. How high is the tally of murders now?

And summer has just started!

We ought not forget that Rochester had been recently hailed as the “murder capital” of New York State. This is not good for business, despite Sheppard’s assurances that violent crime is down from previous years.

Of course, the far right screams that the spike in murders occurs because gun laws are too tough. They are referring to pistols, easily concealed and the frequent weapon of choice for criminals. If such laws were “too tough,” criminals wouldn’t have such apparently easy access to guns.

But then, there is something almost Freudian about the gun toters’ arguments, although they do like to wrap them up in the constitutional right to bear arms.

So, where does that leave the police?

Frankly, the police force cannot be everywhere all of the time. Rochester simply does not have the money to have two or three beat cops walking every block in the city at all hours of the day and night. Even if the police concentrated largely in areas where high rates of crime and shootings are prevalent, we still don’t have the manpower to do it. And other neighborhoods would feel as though they are being ignored.

So people complain about poor response times on the part of the police. This goes back to the time the precinct system was eliminated when the current lieutenant governor was Rochester’s chief of police. The east-west division of Rochester’s police department was a one-time only money saving ploy when the city still had money. It “saved” less than a million bucks, but cost far more in neighborhood morale and the feeling of security. Some things cannot be measured by money.

That being said, what are the police to do?

While the police department can be aware of areas in the city where there is a high occurrence of crime, they cannot respond until there is an actual incident. When they do respond to a crime, people complain that they didn’t get there soon enough, that they have mishandled the investigation and ask what are they going to do about it in the future to prevent the occurrence of such incidents.

Well, the police could frisk everyone walking the streets as a preventative action, but then they would be held up to charges of “profiling.”

Every citizen has the legal right to be out and about in public at any time of the day and be unmolested, whether it be by the police department or by private individuals.

There’s the rub: it’s those private individuals ( the criminals ) who are pushing the envelope, and the police have to walk a torturous tightrope protecting us from them!

Add to that the prevailing attitude of “Don’t Snitch” among people who know something about the crimes in this city ( at the same time those same people complain that the police “aren’t doing anything” to solve crimes ), and the police department’s hands become even more tied.

Oh, well. What it really boils down to is that the job of our police department is to protect us from people who choose to do us harm. Since they can’t prevent criminal acts from occurring, they must speedily investigate, catch and bring the wrongdoers to justice. For that to occur, they need our help. “Don’t Snitch” merely helps the criminals. The maxim qui tacet consentivet ( “silence gives consent” ) comes to mind here. People who know something about the crime, and refuse to inform the police, are consenting to the crime having taken place. They have, in effect, become accessories after the fact in the crime by witholding evidence. And the cycle continues.

But summer is here, the weather is warm, the festivals occur every weekend and they are all well-attended. Fall and colder weather will be coming in a few months, and the crime rate should drop again.

And people complain about the winter! It’s the safest time of the year!

Rochester has a lot of great resources. Unfortunately, most of them are underused and underdeveloped. Our city government has been obsessed with “redeveloping” downtown Rochester for the last 30 or so years with grandiose plans that waste money and guarantee nothing, whether it be reopening the old Erie Canal or “reinventing” Midtown Mall ( now slated for its inevitable destruction, lacking any real interest from private investors to redevelop that property ). Perhaps they are hoping that glitz and glamour there will attract more tourists downtown. How nice for them, but what about us? And subsidizing businesses to locate there is a slap in the face to small businessmen in Rochester who eke out a living NOT on the government dole.

Besides, most of us have learned to do without a real downtown for decades, and it’s the neighborhoods that make up the city, not Main Street.

Oh, well…

One of our greatest resources is the Genesee River, which has also been badly managed; whatever focus for development of that natural resource has always been in the downtown area. It’s been somewhat successful in Corn Hill, but an abject and dismal failure at “High Falls.”

Where the Genesee River empties into Lake Ontario would seem to be a natural area to encourage investment, but ex-Mayor Johnson’s Fast Ferry Folly is an example of stunning subsidized failure.

Yet the Charlotte neighborhood has plenty to offer the people of Rochester, especially during the hot days of summer. Its proximity to the lake means that its a bit cooler during the summer, and the lake breezes help in that respect. The beach, which is on the busline, allows us to cool off a bit during the hot days. The landscaping along Lake and Beach Avenues is pretty to look at. And the mansions lining the lake are great for sightseeing.

There is plenty of free parking available.

And there are a lot of small businesses located there to cater to most people’s needs.

After a day on the sand, what could be more natural than to stop at Abbot’s for frozen custard? I particularly like the chocolate almond flavor.

A few feet away, there’s the Char Pit. Owned by the Palumbo family for decades, it’s a diner suitable for breakfast and lunch, with good food, reasonable prices and a seemingly endless cup of coffee. It’s a fun place, where the staff makes you feel like you are family.

A bit further south on Lake Avenue, there’s Dominic’s, famous for its Italian food. I particularly like their lasagna and Friday night seafood specials. It also has a bar and an adequate wine list.

Just next door, there’s Windjammers, the outstanding bar-restaurant of Charlotte. It’s always filled with a variety of people, young and old. While not exactly a sports bar, the screens at the booths and over the bar are usually turned to sports channels. Though it has arguably the best cheeseburger in town, Windjammers also has such fare as stir-fried meals.

Of course, Charlotte also has comic book stores, trophy shops and tattoo parlors, and a host of other small stores that are generally worth the time to stop in and look around.

And all of these businessmen are not on the government dole, which is the most important thing to remember, and which is why they are worth patronizing. And they are local businesses, not national chains.

A great location, totally mishandled and underused, I suggest that on hot days, people should take a trip to what is, after all, a part of our city and enjoy cooler lake breezes, ice cream, good food and drink.

Kicking off Rochester’s “summer season” this coming week is our world famous Lilac Festival. Highland Park has the largest collection of lilacs in the world, and the festival draws hundreds of thousands of people annually. And it’s free! True, the warm April this year means that the lilacs themselves will be a bit past prime, but people always seem to forget the other attractions at the festival: the magnificent rhododendron and gardenias, the greenhouse ( which has an admission fee ), the stunning vistas from the hills of the park and the free entertainment. The added benefit among the crowds are the scantily clad body beautiful types touring the park in tight t-shirts and shorts, so bringing binoculars might be advisable.

Of course, there will be vendors of all kinds. It just wouldn’t be a Rochester style summer festival without fried dough, hot dogs, ice-cream, indigestion and all kinds of knick-knacks!

As I’ve said, the Lilac Festival is a prelude to all the other festivals that Rochester has going on nearly every weekend this summer!

The Maplewood Rose Festival will take place on Fathers’ Day Weekend in June at Maplewood Park. The park itself is wedged in between the Genesee River Gorge ( which has some magnificent views ) and Lake Avenue. Put on by the Maplewood Neighborhood Association, a large collection of roses are obviously the main attraction, with games for the kiddies and musical performances ( notably by the Dady Brothers ) for the adults. Lower key than the Lilac festival, it is still a delightful way to spend the weekend and to take time to smell the roses.

Notably, Wegmans is NOT funding any part of it this year. Something to remember when deciding which supermarket or grocer to patronize, since they abandoned the neighborhood a few years ago when they closed their Driving Park Avenue Store. But the Rose Festival will still go on without them.

And remember, there are still Harbor Fest ( in the Charlotte neighborhood ), the Corn Hill, Park Avenue and Clothesline arts festivals yet to come, as well as Gay Pride Week, the various Fire Department and ethnic festivals. All local, all easily accessible, all fun.

And who says there’s nothing to do in Rochester? The people who say that must be pretty boring unrepentant couch potatoes.

Contributors

Click on a blogger to see just their posts.

Rich Gardner has been writing about the history, culture and waterways of Upstate New York for years. His articles have appeared in U.S. and Canadian publications, and one book, Learning to Walk. He is an alumnus of Brighton High School and SUNY Geneseo. He operates Upstate Resume & Writing Service in Brighton and recently moved to Corn Hill, where he is already involved in community projects. "I enjoy the 'Aha!' moments of learning new things, conceptual and literal. City living is a great teacher."

Ken Warner grew up in Brockport and first experienced Rochester as a messenger boy for a law firm in Midtown Tower. He recently moved downtown into a loft on the 13th floor of the Temple Building with a view of the Liberty Poll and works in the Powers Building overlooking Rochester’s four corners as Executive Director for UNICON, an organization devoted to bringing economic development to the community. He hopes to use his Rochester Blog to share his observations from these unique views of downtown.